# Bernie Sanders is like Jesus: He's pretty rad, his fan club sucks **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 31, 2016, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-is-like-jesus-hes-pretty-rad-his-fan-club-sucks/750782 "2016-03-31T21:27:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Katriona](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/katriona/32/113_2.png) [@Katriona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katriona)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2016, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-is-like-jesus-hes-pretty-rad-his-fan-club-sucks/750782/41 "2016-04-01T16:52:57Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Hillary. She’s a better politician, and is supporting other Democratic candidates while Bernie _isn’t._ Untrue. I’ve had quite a few emails from the Sanders campaign supporting other progressive candidates. Now, granted, actual progressives are few and far between in the Democratic party, but there are some, and Bernie is supporting them. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2016, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-is-like-jesus-hes-pretty-rad-his-fan-club-sucks/750782/42 "2016-04-01T18:18:13Z")
> [@Katriona](#): > > Untrue. I’ve had quite a few emails from the Sanders campaign supporting other progressive candidates. Now, granted, actual progressives are few and far between in the Democratic party, but there are some, and Bernie is supporting them. Serious question: who is he supporting and how is he supporting them? I haven’t heard anything about this, but maybe I’m reading the wrong sites. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2016, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-is-like-jesus-hes-pretty-rad-his-fan-club-sucks/750782/43 "2016-04-01T19:01:12Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I think you may have just broken the internet. I’ve had more than a few heated discussions with Lefty over the years, but “asshole” is one of the last descriptors I’d use for him. > > It’s kind of funny to hear about “Bernie Bros” since his support among women is so strong. But I guess alliteration triumphs over accuracy. Thanks, John. I don’t especially care about Elvis calling me an asshole; unless he’s chanting “ONE OF US! ONE OF US!” I think his judgment on this issue is irreparably broken. He’s a shitty little nitwit who posts shitty little witless snips, and pretty much nothing else. If he ever stops calling me names, I’ll worry :). RickJay, reason all the Sanders supporters on your FB feed are calling it undemocratic is because I ain’t there. Neither are plenty of my friends. But here’s a challenge for you: start a FB thread, asking whether any Sanders supporters among your friends believe that Clinton’s likely victory is legitimate. I certainly think it is (it makes me sad, but I think it’s legit), and I suspect plenty of other Sanders supporters are like me–not very loud about it on FB, annoyed by the loudest Sanders supporters, annoyed too by the triumphalism/hyperbolic redbaiting among certain Clinton supporters, wishing everyone could debate respectfully. One of the more common memes on my FB wall is a declaration that the poster will vote for Clinton or Sanders, whoever wins the primary, because the election is too important. I’m seeing it posted both by my pinko friends and by my more moderate friends. Are you not seeing this? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2016, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-is-like-jesus-hes-pretty-rad-his-fan-club-sucks/750782/44 "2016-04-01T19:18:53Z")
I will vote for whoever gets the Dem nomination and I won’t need to hold my nose to do it. But Sanders would make the better POTUS, and the progressive movement he represents is literally the single most important and valuable thing out there in American politics right now. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2016, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-is-like-jesus-hes-pretty-rad-his-fan-club-sucks/750782/45 "2016-04-01T19:34:45Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I don’t especially care about Elvis calling me an asshole You continue to be in denial about first use of terms, in that forum as well as this. A scroll up and review would serve you well. Maybe, anyway, but it couldn’t hurt. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2016, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-is-like-jesus-hes-pretty-rad-his-fan-club-sucks/750782/46 "2016-04-01T19:37:35Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > You read that as someone getting sick of Bernie Bros. I read it as a Clinton supporter acting like an asshole. The equivalence isn’t false at all. I mean, seriously, implying that Sanders supporters all sat out the 2010 and 2014 elections? Fuck that dude. The Dems have a problem with mid-term elections. Bernie’s agenda lives and dies on those grounds. Frank is hard left - he’s from the same ideological space as Bernie. Their strategies are wholly different though - Sanders is basically a gadfly. A longstanding headache of Frank was the progressive movement’s choosing no loaf over half a loaf. Admittedly -and this is important- Sanders understands politics, so Frank’s vitriol is capped. > [@](#): > > Incidentally, if you want an example of Clinton supporters acting like assholes this election, look for cases where they use dismissive, insulting terms to refer to folks who support her opponent. Like, say, Bernie Bros. Our politics can be better than that, if we make the choice not to be assholes to one another. That’s a pretty low grade insult. And actually, I chose it with “Asshole Bernie supporters” in mind. But I think you have a good point - I’ll be more careful of that in the future. The brush is broader than I intended. I’m actually pretty happy with the way the Dem campaign is going. Sanders is way better than past progressives. I recommended that a leftie friend vote for the guy, since I argued that most Presidential progressives are mostly destructive of the leftie cause. But not Sanders, since he understands politics. I don’t think [many of his claims survive strict scrutiny](http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2016/03/bernie-sanders-interesting-theory-on-gops-existence), but I chalk that up to the poetry of the campaign. I keep thinking that if Sanders inspires 1000 progressives to run for local office, that would be amazing. I think we need to think harder about Sander’s Plan B. Old thread: [Bernie Sanders supporters: what should the medium term plan be?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=784628) ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2016, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-is-like-jesus-hes-pretty-rad-his-fan-club-sucks/750782/47 "2016-04-01T20:06:28Z")
> [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](#): > > (And yes, I realize Bernie’s Jewish. So was Jesus.) > > First let me get this out of the way: I support Bernie Sanders for President. > > I think his policies will be better for this country. I trust him. I appreciate his views on economics, healthcare, education and foreign policy. > > I think this country’s politics at the national level have shifted far more rightward than I am comfortable with over the past few decades and I also think that based on polling on specific issues that this shift is also out of step with how Americans feel. > > I live in a state that votes very late so I have little say in the nomination process but I plan on voting for Bernie Sanders even if by the time it gets to me he is out of the race officially or mathematically. > > All of that said, Bernie Sanders fans (aka Bernie Bros) are giving RON PAUL supporters a run for the money of most annoying political voices ever. They’re even more annoying than Trump supporters because Trump supporters were always assholes. Most of the Bernie supporters are like-minded and thoughtful, just COMPLETELY unable to step back and look at the election rationally. Let me see if I can summarize the key points here: [ul] [li]You support Bernie[/li][li]You support him so much that you’ll vote for him even if he has no chance and even if he has dropped out[/li][li]Bernie supporters suck because they’re unable to look at the election rationally[/li][/ul] I suppose if the purpose here is to convince everyone that you’re an annoying Bernie supporter of major suckage, then you’ve succeeded! 😃 My point, though, is that this characterization of Bernie supporters isn’t particularly accurate. True, Bernie is regarded as being on the fringe of American politics and as such, he is going to be the magnet for left-wing extremists and young idealists. But as you correctly point out, American politics – which has always been right-of-center by the standards of western democracies – has in recent decades moved way further to the right. Which means that by the standards of reasonably progressive democracies, Bernie is actually pretty much a centrist. What I’m suggesting here is that a large number of Bernie’s followers are actually just reasonable centrists, and he’d have a hell of a lot more of them except for those cynical enough to support Hillary for entirely pragmatic reasons. Only a fairly small number are loud activists or left-wing loons, but those are the ones you hear about the most. The difference with Trump’s menagerie is that while I don’t know how much of a minority the loud and violent ones make up, it’s clear that _ **ALL** _ of them are ignorant, gullible racist bigots pretty much by definition. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2016, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-is-like-jesus-hes-pretty-rad-his-fan-club-sucks/750782/48 "2016-04-01T20:31:21Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > You continue to be in denial about first use of terms, in that forum as well as this. A scroll up and review would serve you well. Maybe, anyway, but it couldn’t hurt. What, you think I deny calling you an asshole first? Nope, I think you’re a shitty little asshole, and I probably said so first here. No denial. It’s just that when shitty little assholes call me names, I don’t worry :). > [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > A longstanding headache of Frank was the progressive movement’s choosing no loaf over half a loaf. Admittedly -and this is important- Sanders understands politics, so Frank’s vitriol is capped. Y’know, that’s fair, and I’m not too upset by what Frank said. “Fuck that guy” was overstated, and I retract. > [@](#): > > That’s a pretty low grade insult. And actually, I chose it with “Asshole Bernie supporters” in mind. But I think you have a good point - I’ll be more careful of that in the future. The brush is broader than I intended. Appreciated, and your point about the long-term (or even medium-term) plan is well-taken. I too am concerned that too many Sanders supporters–indeed, too many Democrats and progressives in general–are over-focused on the top of the ticket, when lower offices are at least as important. I’m thrilled to support some local progressive candidates, and respect the hell out of Republicans’ ability to organize to take over local and state offices, and I wish the DNC weren’t so insanely incompetent at doing the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2016, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-is-like-jesus-hes-pretty-rad-his-fan-club-sucks/750782/49 "2016-04-01T20:43:44Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > I will vote for whoever gets the Dem nomination and I won’t need to hold my nose to do it. But Sanders would make the better POTUS, and the progressive movement he represents is literally the single most important and valuable thing out there in American politics right now. Hear, Hear! Though frankly I am suspicious about the size and robustness of this current progressive movement. ---
**Author:** ![camille](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/22d042/32.png) [@camille](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/camille)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2016, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-is-like-jesus-hes-pretty-rad-his-fan-club-sucks/750782/50 "2016-04-01T20:44:03Z")
“BernieBros” is simply a rehash of the “Obama Boys” meme that came out of HRC’s 2008 campaign: [\*\*Hey, Obama boys: Back off already! Young women are growing increasingly frustrated with the fanatical support of Barack and gleeful bashing of Hillary. \*\*](http://www.salon.com/2008/04/14/obama_supporters/) There is truth to this exaggerated electoral tableau. Young people are voting for Obama; Clinton is a troubling candidate for many women and men; and there is a sense that younger women feel more distant from second-wave feminist leaders than ever before. Meanwhile, go over to Elections and count the number of rabid Clinton supporters compared to Sanders supporters. How many HRC attack threads do you see. How many threads specifically to attack Sanders do you see? And the funny thing is, this is how they act when they are\* winning\*. It’s not Sanders they are attacking; it’s the idea that things must change. It frightens the shit out of them. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2016, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-is-like-jesus-hes-pretty-rad-his-fan-club-sucks/750782/51 "2016-04-01T20:56:33Z")
> [@camille](#): > > Meanwhile, go over to Elections and count the number of rabid Clinton supporters compared to Sanders supporters. How many HRC attack threads do you see. How many threads specifically to attack Sanders do you see? And the funny thing is, this is how they act when they are\* winning\*. It’s not Sanders they are attacking; it’s the idea that things must change. It frightens the shit out of them. When I go look, I’m counting about 4 angry-about-Sanders threads, and 3 angry-about-Clinton threads. Slacker started two of the former, boffking started two of the latter. Meanwhile there are threads that are reasonable and thoughtful. Weirdly, those threads get fewer posts–including from you and me :). Perhaps we should be careful not to feed the idiots. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2016, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-is-like-jesus-hes-pretty-rad-his-fan-club-sucks/750782/52 "2016-04-01T21:25:24Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > Do you have a hat? > > Do you have a video camera? Who doesn’t have a hat of some kind? I have at least a dozen of them, and none are douchebag hats ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2016, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-is-like-jesus-hes-pretty-rad-his-fan-club-sucks/750782/53 "2016-04-01T21:28:54Z")
I just checked my closet. I have seven baseball caps, four wool toques, and an Aussie bush hat, so an even dozen. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2016, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-is-like-jesus-hes-pretty-rad-his-fan-club-sucks/750782/54 "2016-04-01T21:36:50Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > Hear, Hear! Though frankly I am suspicious about the size and robustness of this current progressive movement. Well, Sanders apparently has been getting a lot votes from people who only registered D this year – so he has a big progressive base hitherto untapped by the party. If that vote could be harnessed, then – as the hard-RWs, who are mostly elderly, gradually die out – this country would go so far to the left that you wouldn’t recognize it. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2016, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-is-like-jesus-hes-pretty-rad-his-fan-club-sucks/750782/55 "2016-04-01T21:40:03Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Perhaps we should be careful not to feed the idiots. (Shaking head sadly). ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2016, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-is-like-jesus-hes-pretty-rad-his-fan-club-sucks/750782/56 "2016-04-01T21:54:51Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Appreciated, and your point about the long-term (or even medium-term) plan is well-taken. I too am concerned that too many Sanders supporters–indeed, too many Democrats and progressives in general–are over-focused on the top of the ticket, when lower offices are at least as important. I’m thrilled to support some local progressive candidates, and respect the hell out of Republicans’ ability to organize to take over local and state offices, and I wish the DNC weren’t so insanely incompetent at doing the same thing. Well, that can be tricky. A few years ago a local young progressive, I forget his name, ran a high-profile but unsuccessful campaign for the Tampa City Council. Our local Straight-Dope-publishing alt-weekly, _Creative Loafing,_ remarked that “X seems to think he is running for a more important job than the Tampa City Council.” Because he was always talking about the kinds of issues progressives talk about, most of which are beyond the powers or jurisdiction of a municipal government. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2016, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-is-like-jesus-hes-pretty-rad-his-fan-club-sucks/750782/57 "2016-04-01T21:56:52Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Perhaps we should be careful not to feed the idiots. It is even more dangerous to let them grow hungry. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2016, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-is-like-jesus-hes-pretty-rad-his-fan-club-sucks/750782/58 "2016-04-01T22:13:09Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > Democrats retooled after their 1984 loss with far less justification. If you don’t need to retool after you lose 49 out of 50 states, when \*do \*you need to retool? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2016, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-is-like-jesus-hes-pretty-rad-his-fan-club-sucks/750782/59 "2016-04-01T22:18:11Z")
Yes, they replaced the tool named Mondale with the tool named Dukakis. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2016, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-is-like-jesus-hes-pretty-rad-his-fan-club-sucks/750782/60 "2016-04-01T23:26:01Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > It’s true among Clinton supporters (have you read the ridiculous tripe SlackerInc is vomiting all over Elections?). > [@jsgoddess](#): > > Yeah. SlackerInc is incredibly embarrassing. The real shocker is dalej42 is actually supporting a woman! Yes. Enough **SlackerInc**. You’re not helping your cause at all. As bad as the worst Bernie supporters. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-is-like-jesus-hes-pretty-rad-his-fan-club-sucks/750782.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-is-like-jesus-hes-pretty-rad-his-fan-club-sucks/750782.md?page=4)